


The Spooky Spoopy Challenge

by hopelessly_me



Category: Marvel
Genre: Gen, Ghosts?, Halloween, Haunted House
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 22:17:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21215948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessly_me/pseuds/hopelessly_me
Summary: When Peter finds a new internet craze called the Spooky Spoopy Challenge, Tony enlists his fellow Avengers to partake in the viral fun.





	The Spooky Spoopy Challenge

“You want us to do what now?”

Clint stared at Steve and Tony. The words that had come out of Steve’s mouth refused to fully register in his mind. And the grin on Tony’s face wasn’t matching the blank look on Steve’s face. It was just- weird, abnormal and not something Clint ever thought would be brought up under an Avengers meeting.

“It is some internet challenge,” Steve explained. “And Tony thought it would be fun to try.”

“Then Tony should go do it,” Natasha said, emphasizing Tony’s name. “I am not strapping a GoPro camera to my head for the night just for a viral video.”

“Two viral videos,” Tony corrected. “Come on, the West Coasters did it. It was hilarious. And Pepper always says how people seeing us do normal things is good PR. This would be great.”

“The West Coast division is comprised of twenty-somethings,” Bucky pointed out. “Isn’t meme culture and viral videos for likes their thing?”

“I’m out, I’m not doing it,” Bruce said firmly. “I have a dissertation to finish, I don’t have time to partake in-”

“Chicken.” Bruce rolled his eyes but walked. “Thor! Come on! It should be fun!” Tony begging was at least amusing.

Thor looked genuinely confused. “So… we go to a house in which people dress up to scare us. Then we go to a house that holds the souls of the dead… watch a movie about dead souls, then sleep at night?”

“The Spooky Spoopy challenge,” Peter said excitedly.

Clint crossed his arms. “Are we just doing this because your foster child wants to?”

“No,” Tony said.

“Yep!” Peter chirped before he looked at Tony, confused. “Oh, come on, guys! It will be fun! What could go wrong?”

“Just for starters, we could go to the haunted house and Bucky could break someone’s throat bones by punching them if they pop out,” Clint said.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Clint,” Bucky growled.

“Hey, Tasha would be right up there with you on that front,” Clint said.

“Tasha,” Peter said, pleading eyes and all.

“No, you don’t get to call me that,” Natasha corrected Peter firmly. That was solely a Clint-Natasha thing and she didn’t mind reminding the others of it; Clint wasn’t going to argue. “I am not going in a haunted house. I’m an adult.”

“I’ll do the haunted house,” Clint grinned. “I love those things! I wanna see Spider-kid pee his pants.”

“Hey!”

“So we can break the team up,” Steve said.

“Why are you going along with this?” Bucky asked, narrowing his eyes.

“This seems like a fun team building event,” Steve replied with a shrug. “Clint isn’t wrong- Bucky and Natasha are more likely to strike than jump and laugh if someone pops out at them. Clint and Peter can do that event with Tony.”

“No, I don’t want to resuscitate Tony if his fake heart stops,” Clint groaned.

“I feed you,” Tony said, pointing a finger at Clint.

“Fury feeds me, you house me,” Clint replied. “And I could always stay in my apartment so that threat is really empty.”

“He has you, sir,” Peter said. “Okay okay! So cool! Hawkeye and I can do the haunted house!”

“So this is the plan,” Tony said, uncapping a marker to write on the board. Clint and Natasha both groaned, and Tony ignored him. “I am proposing that the team travels for this fun event. Charleston, South Carolina. It’s supposed to be haunted, being old and all that-”

“Does that mean you, Steve, and Bucky are haunted?” Clint asked. Bucky snorted before he flipped Clint off.

“Funny, Merida,” Tony said sarcastically. “Natasha, Steve, Bucky, Thor, and myself will go to where we will be sleeping for the night. Peter and Clint will first go to a haunted house, get the pants scared off of them. Then they will meet us-”

“With pizza,” Clint chimed in. “New pizza from a new place score! And coffee!”

“Focus,” Tony said. “But fine, bring food. We will turn all the lights out and watch a scary movie, then try to sleep at night.”

“Sounds Blair witchy,” Natasha said. “Fine, whatever, count me in. But I am not planning anything for this. All on you, Tony. And I am not wearing a GoPro.”

“Sure, fine,” Tony waved his hand. “We’ll just give you a handheld camera to document ghosts.”

“There is no such thing as ghosts,” Natasha said.

“The spirits of the dead do linger,” Thor said. “Though perhaps we shouldn’t be toying with the dead. That cannot have good consequences.”

Natasha rolled her eyes and looked at Clint. There was the hint of a smile, a raised eyebrow, and Clint looked away, nodding as Thor talked. Clint was happy that he had Natasha- the two could practically read each other’s minds. If they timed it right, it would drive Tony insane, which was usually the goal.

“This should be great guys,” Clint said, getting to his feet. “Just let me know whats up and when.” Natasha was also on her feet, walking to the elevator. “Spider-kid- can’t wait.”

“Yes Mister Barton sir,” Peter rambled off.

“Serious, Clint,” Clint said before he stepped into the elevator with Natasha. “Hey J, my floor please.”

Natasha waited until the door was closed before her smile grew. “We are going to screw with them, right?”

“Oh, we are so going to screw with them,” Clint agreed, crossing his arms as he looked down at Natasha with a mischievous smile. “Tony is going to regret this one.”

\-----

The team arrived in Charleston that morning. Peter had talked Clint into taking walking tours, and haunted tours in buildings for the entire day. After promising Tony half a dozen times that he would make “smart choices”, Clint obliged the kid. Peter wasn’t bad- maybe a little too eager, and used words like “yeet”, but Clint didn’t mind him. It was almost a breath of fresh air being around someone much younger. And unlike Kate, Peter didn’t “throw shade”, whatever that meant.

The haunted house wasn’t bad- your typical jump out and scare job with people looking like killer clowns and zombies, and basically anything deemed ‘scary’. Clint was fairly certain he laughed more throughout the maze of horrors than anything, taunting Peter was the went. The only part that made Clint jump was the doll room where a woman dropped down from the ceiling. However, Peter essentially thrust himself upon Clint, holding on for dear life, and Clint couldn’t help but laugh. If nothing else, Peter’s GoPro cam alone was going to make this trip worth it.

Peter was typical in the haunted house. He jumped, he screamed, he laughed. It made Clint more aware just how young the kid was; it kind of made him sad that Peter was even involved with the Avengers at this stage of his life. He should still be going to football games, hanging out with friends, not hanging out with a bunch of adults taking care of adult problems. But Peter didn’t seem to mind- he was too enthralled by Tony to really care it seemed.

At the end of the maze, they placed the pizza order. They signed autographs, took photos. Peter fit right into the demographic that was attending the Halloween event. _God, I am old_ Clint thought as he watched the young adults interact. He didn’t typically think people in their thirties were old, but being in a sea of people mostly under the age of twenty-one was making him rethink that notion. Occasionally there was an adult close to his age, but they were escorting children, just like he was. _Ouch._

Clint finally managed to pull Peter away from the house, forcing him to focus on the new task. They picked up the pizzas, an excessive amount of soda, and a dozen cups of coffee. Clint drove through the old and narrow streets and watched as Charleston’s downtown district disappeared into neighborhoods. 

He parked the rental in front of the Charleston’s Old City Jail and Clint eyed it warily. _Why does it have to look creepy?_ Peter was still rambling on about something or another, Clint had no idea what anymore. He grabbed the pizzas while Clint focused on the coffees. Bucky made his way out.

“How was it?” he asked casually, grabbing the two cases of soda.

“Oh, you know, people screaming, fake blood, horrors galore,” Clint answered. He rolled his eyes when he watched Peter use his spidey-whatever to open the door, cheering as if it was a major feat. “He’s a fun kid. But God am I old,” he added.

“Haunted level old yet?” Bucky teased, walking with him. “You are going to love this place. It’s… old and run down.”

“Perfect,” Clint answered.

After copious amounts of pizza, coffee, and a horror movie, the team went on a tour, listening to all the ghost stories. Clint had an arm around Natasha’s shoulders as they listened to the stories. Most of them revolved about some serial killer lady and her husband, though they focused on her. 

_I think I’ve got more on her_ Natasha signed when she was sure no one was watching.

_Great, where are we going to haunt when we die_ Clint signed with a grin. _I’m totally doing my floor at the Tower._

The hauntings were mostly noises of bangs, doors closing, and voices probably always out of sight. There were some sketchy photos and a few claims of being touched. The unsettling was was the time something got thrown.

Thor and Pete were both enthralled- it was kind of fun to watch them both listening closely. Steve and Bucky were politely listening, though Clint wasn’t sure how engaged they were. And Tony- he was on his damn phone. Clint reached down and picked up a small stone, Natasha smirking. He bounced it in his hands a few times before he threw it, the stone bouncing off the wall next to Tony. The man jumped close to a mile high before he looked over and glared. Clint shrugged his shoulders and winked.

“So, that’s all,” the tour guide said. “You have our number, Mister Stark. Call if you need anything. We’ll lock the doors.”

“Woah woah, wait, what?” Clint asked. “Back up a bit. Lock the doors?”

“Right, Mister Barton sir,” Peter said. “It’s a lockdown. We can’t leave.”

And that didn’t settle well. Natasha and Bucky both started arguing about the impracticality of it, that if they got an Avengers call, they would have to leave right away. Clint was unsure about not having a secure way out in case just about anything happened. Tony assured them that it was all going to be fine, but caved after several minutes of arguing and Natasha threatening to leave right there and then.

“So how is this going to work?” Steve asked once the team had time to settle down. Clint snatched another coffee, looking around. “Do we all just… walk together?”

“So, we can go off in pairs, or we can do solos and all that,” Peter said. “Document stuff. See if we see ghosts. We all have little recorders to capture voices.”

“And most importantly, those two are _not_ paired together,” Tony said, pointing between Natasha and Clint. “If they stick together they will pull some mischievous bullshit.”

“Got us pegged,” Clint said, tipping his cup towards Tony. It did ruin their plans if they weren’t in it together. “Fine. But I am not taking Spider-kid. I already had him clinging to me today.”

“I’ll take the kid,” Tony said. “Thor, Steve, and Natasha can be in a group. Clint and Bucky another.”

“I am so locking you in a dark room,” Bucky whispered to Clint.

“You don’t scare me Barnes. I close my eyes and take my ears out, I can sleep just about anywhere,” Clint replied proudly.

“So- let’s all split up then,” Steve recommended. “Bucky and Clint, why don’t you guys take the bottom most floor? Wasn’t there that weird holding cell?” he asked.

“Oh, great, thanks,” Clint replied. “Nat should take the serial killer area. She’s all about that.”

“Kindred spirits,” Natasha taunted before she went walking, picking up the camcorder Tony had brought for her.

“Let’s go,” Bucky said, walking. Clint waved to the others and followed. “This is ridiculous,” he muttered.

“Barnes, are you scared of the dark?” Clint asked, trying to sound as creepy as he could.

“Shut up. You go first.”

“Because you are scared?”

“Because if someone is going to miss a step, it can be you,” Bucky replied.

Clint rolled his eyes. “Charming.” He smiled and looked around. “Oh hey, here is the isolation cell thing.” Clint peered inside. “Can you imagine being stuck in this thing?” he asked. “It’s tiny.”

“I think you’ve been locked in smaller before,” Bucky commented.

It wasn’t a lie- Clint somehow managed to find his way in close quarters a few times during his career. But none of the rooms had ever looked like this. His places at least were a bit cleaner from what he could vaguely remember.

“So… what do we do?” Clint asked.

“You weren’t paying attention at all, were you?” Bucky accused. Clint only gave Bucky a lopsided smile and Bucky sighed. “Turn a damn recorder on and we ask questions.”

“Oh, yeah, this should be great,” Clint said. He sat down in the doorway and fumbled with the tiny recorder. He turned it on. “Okay, so, Bucky and Clint in the isolation thing.”

“Thing,” Bucky snorted.

“If you think you can do better, feel free,” Clint insisted politely. He waited but Bucky didn’t speak up. “So… anyone here?” he asked.

Clint wasn’t a fan of the quiet. Every noise seemed to be amplified, and he figured it was just the rest of the team floors above. Bucky had sat down and asked a few random questions. At least his sounded like he was paying attention to the tour.

“Do you like pizza?”

“What kind of dumb question is that?” Bucky asked.

“What? I need to find out the character of these dead people,” Clint replied. “Do you like dogs? Would you pet a dog?”

“You are so stupid,” Bucky grumbled. “These people were here for committing crimes.”

“Oh please, the dude said one was, like, twelve and all he did was steal some bread- that’s not terrifying,” Clint shot back. He leaned his head back. “This blows. I’m bored.”

“Ghosts, if you are here, please grab him or something,” Bucky said loudly.

“Just don’t get frisky,” Clint added.

“Disturbing.”

They sat there for a little bit more, silent and listening. And it was faint but it was clear- a rock was kicked or something. Bucky flinched and looked down the hall, glaring. Clint narrowed his eyes, but it was too dark. Clint turned on his flashlight but there was nothing.

“Jumpy, Barnes?” Clint asked innocently.

“You are the one with a flashlight on,” Bucky responded cooly.

“Touche.” Clint switched the flashlight off. “So- if that was you, why don’t you close a door or something? Or pelt one of us with a brick.”

“Clint!”

“What? Come on, you can’t tell me you believe all this noise,” Clint laughed. “If I was dead, I would endlessly sleep. I’m not doing a workout and throwing a-”

The rock landed closer and both men were on their feet. _Okay, seriously, what the hell?_ Bucky turned the flashlight on this time. Still nothing, not that Clint was expecting much. Bucky leveled his flashlight with the ceiling, but it was solid.

“Alright, that’s weird,” Bucky admitted.

“Yeah, weird,” Clint agreed. “So, like, should we maybe move?”

“Yeah, let’s move,” Bucky agreed, moving down the hall, towards where the rock would have came from. “Nat, is that you being a prick?” he asked.

“She’s, like, three flights above,” Clint answered.

“Doesn’t mean she didn’t slip away,” Bucky muttered. He flashed the beam of light into different rooms. “I’ve seen worse than this place. I think we both have. But it’s still eerie, ain’t it? How quiet this place is but it feels… full.”

Clint wasn’t going to answer that. Either Bucky was trying to trick him and then laugh, or they were both going to freak the other out. Clint wasn’t going to let it get to his head. He didn’t know where he stood on the ghost front. He had seen weirder things, aliens, blobs, insert whatever else here. But ghosts? It seemed to cross a line he didn’t want to explore.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” Bucky asked.

“I dunno,” Clint replied. “I kinda don’t want to believe that when you die, you get stuck living in a place like this, y’know? I’d kinda like to be dead and stay that way. You?”

“Same,” Bucky answered.

There was the damn rock again and Clint turned. It was from behind them. Bucky was visibly starting to tense and- well, this can’t be good. Bucky was getting that look he gets on missions- the same level of intensity.

“Bucky, we can always head outside to get some air,” Clint suggested.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want you to try to kill a ghost?” Clint offered. “You are getting tense. Like mission tense.”

Bucky backed down, forced himself to breathe. If Bucky was reacting like this, and if others were hearing rocks, how was Tasha handing it? She was probably blaming the kid, even if he wasn’t close. Her rational side would be fighting against the irrational and-

Clint jumped when something above them banged. Bucky jumped and Clint grabbed his arm, held him back. Mission mode again. Clint was starting to think he would have rather been with the clingy kid than a super soldier who was stressing out.

Bucky touched his ear. “Who did that?” he asked. Clint switched his hearing aids over to the comm system.

“_It was on Natasha’s story_,” Tony answered.

“_We are looking for the noise, it sounded like bars closing. Like the doors_,” Steve replied. “_You heard it all the way down there?_”

Clint eyed Bucky. “Buck, we can go outside,” he said again.

“I’m fine,” Bucky lied. “Steve and Nat must just be pranking the rest of us.” He took a deep breath and found a staircase and sat down. Clint sat on the wall across from him. “This is stupid- why am I antsy?”

“Caffeine, scary movie, and creepy setting,” Clint offered. “If it helps, this is creepy.”

“You are creeped out?” Bucky asked, looking up.

“Perfect storm,” Clint shrugged.

Clint was thankful that it seemed like everything got quiet. The team regrouped after two more hours hours and set up sleeping bags. Clint sat down next to the wall with Natasha, waiting until she leaned against him before he relaxed into it, planting a kiss against her temple.

_Be honest- was the bang you and the group?_ Clint signed.

_No._

The answer was simple. Clint leaned forward to look at her face. She was pensive and it unnerved him a little. He had been certain that she had pulled a fast one. Peter was talking too excitedly to his camera still, and Clint was sure that that group hadn’t caused the commotion either. Bucky- he was with Steve and Thor, the three playing a card game by flashlight.

_So… weird night_ Clint signed.

_Weird night_ Natasha echoed. She shifted and patted his arm. Clint angled himself better. _It wasn’t you and Bucky?_ Clint shook his head and she looked more perplexed. _Tony and Peter then._

Clint didn’t have an answer. He wasn’t sure he wanted to have an answer. He shrugged and pulled her back against him, covering them with both of their sleeping bags. He wasn’t sure either of them was really going to sleep. He wasn’t sure anyone on the team was. Each one, aside from Peter and Tony, looked to be on various levels of tension or reflection.

_Ghosts aren’t real_ Natasha rationalized.

_Don't know, don't care. Only a few hours until sunrise. I called Coulson- got us two extra days here in Charleston. Somewhere a bit more comfortable and less creepy. Bit more beachy._

_Thank you._

\-----

“No. Freaking. Way!” Peter exclaimed excitedly. “Guys! Assemble.”

“Stop teaching him it’s okay to just tell us to assemble,” Clint whined as he got up.

It had been a week since the Halloween event. Pepper had the PR team compiling all the footage to release. Since then, Clint and Natasha extended their vacation, spending more time on the beach before they came back to the team. They were supposed to fly out in the morning for a mission in Tel Aviv for S.H.I.E.L.D. so they were taking it easy.

“Look.”

The video was grainy, but Clint could still make out the door to a cell closing rather violently. The members nearby watching the video all seemed to lean in closer, to get another look. There weren’t any flashlights in the room, no noise outside of the slamming of the metal door then a mini-shriek from Peter.

Peter was ecstatic. His mouth was moving a mile a minute, his eyes excitedly widened and his arms flailing. Clint sighed and took his hearing aids out and walked back to the couch and lay down. He only sat up slightly for Natasha to sit. She looked down at Clint, and it was an unspoken agreement.

_Okay, maybe ghosts could be real._


End file.
